This Is for the Night People

Ralph | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 2, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Bongo Beat Records
• ASIN: B000056FDT
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #415,348 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Wet Cigarette

2. Acid Jazz On A Rainy Day

3. Last Year's Valentine

4. Mario Lanza

5. This Is For The Night People

6. Short Mood

7. God Shine Your Light On My Corner Tonight

8. John Coltrane New York City

9. Midnight In Manhatten

10. Lucky To Be Lucky

11. Staten Island For Two

12. Sleepy Little Girl

13. Nostalgia For Nowhere

14. Jazz #1

15. Why Does My Paul Desmond Record Start Skipping When I Kiss You?

16. Jazz Girl

17. Blue April

18. 23 Bridges

19. Sorry Man I Gotta Go

20. Jazz #2

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Rebirth of the cool, February 16, 2001

By 

sask - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Is For The Night People (Audio CD)

This cd was made for latenight playing. On This Is For The Night People, Ralph combines the cool jazz feel of Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan with a modern pop sense, and adds smart, drowsy-eyed, sometimes funny lyrics to complete the package. Frontman Ralph Alfonso continues the tradional melding of jazz and Beat poetry, following in the footsteps of Jack Kerouac, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Kenneth Patchen, and Langston Hughes. Poetically speaking, he holds his own; the opening track 'Wet Cigarette' is a perfect example, just simple musings similar to that of Tom Waits' output in the 70's.

But it's not just hipster poetry. The rest of the band backs up the lyrics perfectly, and shows its jazzy chops on three short instrumentals. The musicianship and poetry come together the best on 'John Coltrane New York City', an imagined scenario taking place at the Village Vangurd in the Fifties.

There are also three songs featuring guest vocalists (the best being Bridget Sullivan's work on the folky 'That's What Lonely People Do'), as well as a couple nods to Mr. Kerouac himself, in the form of a cover version of the classic 'Pull My Daisy', and the great original tune 'Goodbye Jack. Kerouac.'. The album comes to a fitting end with the surprising cover of the obscure Rolling Stones song '(Walkin' Through) The Sleepy City'. Over the melancholy piano chords, Alfonso recites the words instead of singing them, transforming the song into a sad, but fine ending to an excellent album.